1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention has for an object the use of a device allowing for the transformation of enclosures or containers which are adapted to receive a fluid body, which is adapted to be separated by decantation into an evacuable liquid, such as wine, by flowing or drafting off, and into a residue comprising agglomerated particulate solids, such as a marc cake formed by an agglomeration of stalks, small seeds and skins, into a self-emptying container.
2. Description of Prior Art
Such enclosures or containers can, for example, be conventional vinification containers which receive squeezed grape harvests, and from which, after drainage of the wine at the end of fermentation, the marc must be evacuated.
The present invention also has as an object to equip such enclosures or containers with such a transforming device.
It is known to equip enclosures of the vinification container type with a bottom of which at least one fixed inclined wall allows residue, in the form of marc, to slide on an axial evacuation means towards the exterior of the device; in the majority of cases, the evacuation means is an endless screw activated or driven by a motor element from the exterior of the enclosure.
This arrangement, even though it facilitates the evacuation of the marc, presents the inconvenience of being too inefficient. The constituents of marc, i.e., the stalks, small seeds and grapeskins, rise by floatation above the grape juice so as to comprise a compact mass, i.e., "the cake", the consistency and thickness of which render the residue difficult to evacuate and which act to retard the fermentation process.
The compact structure of the marc cake forms bridges which interfere with its evacuation by the endless screw, and it is frequently necessary to penetrate the container to break the cake. Furthermore, to obtain a satisfactory vinification it is necessary to maintain the marc cake under the level of the liquid and also to separate it in a manner which is uniform and which assures a constant mixture with the juice during the time necessary for good vinification. Known means exist allowing for the maintenance of the marc cake under the level of the juice or wine, yet these means are of the perforated cover type, and are inefficient because they do not contribute to breaking up the cake marc to allow its constant mixture with the juice.